Effect of Polyoma Virus on Mouse Kidney Rudiment In Vitro23

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Abstract
The effect of polyoma virus on mouse kidney rudiment was studied in vitro. Rudiments in various stages of development were used. Short-term cultures were prepared on Millipore TA filter membrane with the use of the Trowell-type organ-culture technique. Long-term cultures were prepared from kidney and from salivary-gland rudiments on cellulose sponge matrix. This study showed that metanephrogenic mesenchyme is highly susceptible to polyoma virus; the first signs of viral cytopathogenic effect were observed 2 days after infection in vitro. However, renal epithelium seemed to resist the cytotoxic effects of the virus, and only minor changes due to the virus were found in the kidney epithelium. This observation is in sharp contrast to results after inoculation of polyoma virus into new-born mice. In addition to the lack of cytolytic response in renal epithelium, no proliferation was observed in this tissue in long-term cultures. Salivary epithelium, on the other hand, rapidly developed viral lesions, and in long-term cultures signs of proliferation occurred. The reasons for the lack of viral response in vitro in renal epithelium are discussed in the light of the morphogenetic mechanism in this organ as compared with that in the salivary gland. In addition, the possibility of some host factors operating in vivo that are relevant to the virus susceptibility of the kidney epithelium is suggested.